A woman reacts as people arrive at Berlin's central train station, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Berlin, Germany, March 2, 2022. Reuters

1m people have fled Ukraine in week since Russia's invasion, UN says

by

The United Nations refugee agency has said that one million people have now fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of its Eastern European neighbour.

The exodus, which has taken place in just seven days, is unprecedented in this century for its speed.

But the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warns that the outflows will continue and predicts that the conflict will leave some 12 million people internally displaced and in need of relief.

In a statement on Twitter, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi pleaded for "guns to fall silent, so that life-saving humanitarian assistance can be provided" to the millions who remain in the country.

The current tally of refugees from Ukraine amounts to a little over 2 percent of the country's total population of 44 million.

According to UNHCR, around half of the refugees are in Poland, with Hungary, Moldova and Slovakia being the other top destinations, while others have fled to various other European countries.